Avery's Trace

In an effort to encourage settlers to move west into the new territory of Tennessee, in 1787 North Carolina ordered a road to be cut to lead settlers into the Cumberland Settlements — from the south end of Clinch mountain (in East Tennessee) to French Lick (Nashville).

Journals of many travelers along the Trace detail hardship encountered as they journeyed for several days to make the 300-mile (480 km) trip.

Because a portion of the Trace passed through Cherokee land, tribe members demanded a toll for settlers' use of the road.

The North Carolina legislature ordered militia details of 50 men each to be maintained to escort travelers when large enough groups had gathered at the Clinch River to head west.

A few years later, the North Carolina legislature ordered widening and improvements to the Trace to upgrade it to a wagon road.

As the days wore on, they were occasionally fortunate enough to find families living along the Trace who gave them shelter and food for themselves and their horses, but these were few and far between.

The land they traveled through was rich with beautiful hills and valleys full of canebrakes, giant trees and tangled vines.

Many of those who made the journey described it as 300 miles (480 km) of wilderness — one inhabited by wolves, mountain lions, coyotes, deer and buffalo herds.

Many notable people traveled along the Trace, among them Andrew Jackson, Judge John McNairy, Governor William Blount, Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans (who later became King of France), Bishop Francis Asbury, French botanist André Michaux, Tennessee Governor Archibald Roane, Thomas "Big Foot" Spencer, and others.

The Trace now stands as a testament to the travelers and families who had the courage to undertake such an arduous and difficult journey, in search of a new life for themselves and future generations.